The untold horn guide

As we all know, Lagos state declared the 15th of October, 2014 as a horn-free day and to enforce it, 1,000 LASTMA and VIO agents were mobilised for this task.  The objectives hoped to be achieved by this exercise was to reduce noise pollution, cultivate respect for other road users, maintain and encourage road discipline, amongst a few others. This is a great idea and should not be too hard to achieve, but many a Lagos motorist would agree that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

A wise man once told me, ‘always assume everyone else on the road is mad because they are’. At that time I chuckled, but after paying more attention and observing other motorists including pedestrians I realised there’s indeed a lot of truth in his words. For instance, in tight but moving traffic, every other person believes that their own activities for the day are way more important than yours. So after allowing one person in front of you, every other person wants to be allowed. The case study above requires some aggression in form of loud and long honking, 007 driving and raining curses to top it up. Just kidding about the last one, but anyways you get my drift. Or is it when there is a pedestrian bridge on the expressway, but in the mind of some people the term ‘Naija’ can be inter-changed with ‘Ninja’,  causing them to dart across the express. Law has taught us that most times the duty of care is placed on the driver. So in order not to be canned for manslaughter, the motorist had better start honking right from the beginning of the high way to alert any possible ‘ninjas’ in the vicinity.

There is also the problem that is the commercial bus drivers, popularly known as ‘Danfo’ driver in Lagos. Many of them drive like they have no cares in the world. A private motorist would not want a scratch or a dent which is why he or she would refuse to ‘drag road’ with danfos. But as for the danfo drivers, it seems the more crooked and bashed their buses are, the better. All that matters is that it moves. This alone doesn’t make them moving hazards, but what solidifies their status is that the buses are so bruised and battered that there’s always something that is not working. Faulty brakes, busted trafficators, possessed hind doors, non-existent rear-view mirror and a host of other hazards that the only way to save your life as a motorist is by honking your horn as loud as you can.

Finally, we have the Okada and Keke NAPEP (motorcycles and tricycles). Need I say more? Many thought they had been saved upon the restriction of Okada movement, saying that the Keke would be less of a nuisance, but boy were they wrong. These little contraptions just come in front of you out of nowhere like flies, so the only way to swath them away is by blaring your loud and intimidating horn to scare them away from your vehicle’s vicinity.

So with that said, if all horns were destroyed and disabled from cars in Lagos and people had no choice in the matter, how do you think that day would pan out?

I would leave that to your imagination.

Oluwaseyi Lawal